White Container Garden

A white container garden is crisp and elegant, a change from the typical bold use of colorful blooms, that you can set on your front porch, patio, or anywhere in your outdoor space.

This is the year for cool and crisp front door decor. I started with an all white tulip wreath for spring. Recently, I switched that wreath with a fun DIY lemon wreath. Now I needed to figure out what to plant in our front door planters. I decided to use all white flowers and some pretty foliage plants. Quite a change from my usual colorful look.

Creating a White Container Garden

Plant Choices

I always like something tall in the back, aka a thriller, so this year I splurged for a Mandelvilla Vine. This is something my mother used to buy every year for their back porch.

I also like to choose a couple of filler plants and a couple of trailing plants. I chose a white Browallia, one I often buy in blue, and a coleus with interesting leaves for the filler plants.

For the trailing plants, I picked up a pretty white Lantana with a hint of yellow and a bright lime green Ipomoea, aka sweet potato vine. Sweet potato vines always grow very well for me in this spot, so it was a no-brainer. Although a dark sweet potato vine would have looked good here too.

Other Good White Plant Choices

There are so many annuals that come in a shade of white. Here are a few good ones that I saw at the nursery. Keep in mind the amount of sun or shade the area where you place your planters receive, and refer to the plant tags when purchasing.

Tip: Don't worry too much about crowding. Since the planter is only going to be used for a few months, you can get away with tightly planted flowers, and that may give you a full, gorgeous planter in no time. However, you may need to water it often. Morning watering is best, but early evening is okay in a pinch.

Planting the Flowers

• Stage the flowers in their pots to find the perfect arrangement first.
• Tap the sides of the pots to gently lift them out of their containers.
• Gently remove or tease open any bound roots at the base.
• Start with the largest in the back and plant it about 1-2 inches from the rim with fresh potting soil or a good soilless mix.
• Continue with the remaining plants, tilting the vining plants slightly to spill over the edge. In this case, the sweet potato vine and the lantana.
• Water well and consider allowing 15 - 20 minutes to pass before watering again. This will help with getting a deep watering without too much of the new dusty potting soil all over.
• I like to water every other day to every third day, unless my planter is in a spot where it gets rain. Usually, I'll add a little water-soluble fertilizer to the watering can as well.

Here's what they look like just after planting. I like the way the Mandevilla vine and the Lantana bits of yellow coordinate with the lemon wreath while still maintaining an overall white and green palette. I can't wait to see how good they will look as they fill in.